Best Buy has the 32GB Transformer Prime in stock

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Are you looking to do some last-minute holiday shopping — for yourself? If you can wait a few days to get it, the most impressive Android tablet is now available from Best Buy. The retailer’s website is listing the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime as being in stock.

Best Buy lists the 32GB (WiFi only) version of the Transformer Prime as being ready to ship within one business day. The tablet isn’t yet available in Best Buy (or any other) stores. The optional ($150) keyboard dock isn’t yet available.

Unlike most popular smartphone or tablet manufacturers, Asus prefers to employ a gradual roll-out. The original Eee Pad Transformer was only available in limited quantities at first, but company amped up availability soon afterwards. Now we’re seeing the same thing with its sequel. It’s a smart strategy: people tend to get more excited about something that’s hard to get. Rather than swamping shoppers with mass quantities from the get-go, it establishes that elusive mystique — and then gradually makes it more available.

There never was an official launch date with the Transformer Prime. It began shipping last week (December 19th to be exact), but only select pre-order customers got them (other pre-orders were delayed). It wasn’t expected to be available in large quantities until January, so those wanting to get their hands on the tablet may want to act quickly.

The Transformer Prime is the first device to run Nvidia’s quad-core Tegra 3 processor. Surrounded by a 1280×800 Super IPS+ display, 1GB of RAM, and an 8MP camera (ridiculously high for a tablet) it’s the most compelling reason we’ve found to buy an Android tablet. The optional keyboard dock — which essentially turns the tablet into an Android-running netbook — only sweetens the pot.